Joe Budden – Padded Room

    Among the types of conflict, Hip Hop in 2009 abundantly celebrates the
    man vs. man type. Battles, beefs, subliminal disses and nameless
    competitive threats drive not only the marketplace, but many of its
    most talked about records. A former product of that, Joe Budden
    [click to read] delivers Padded Room, the effort where the New Jersey underground hero
    settles and pushes aside all his many past conflicts with others, to
    have the time and energy to truly deal with himself on a deeper level.
    The psycho-analysis is public, it’s honest and it’s executed through
    some of the best writing and rapping of Joe‘s patient-but-powerful
    career.

    Moving from mixtapes to albums, this may be considered
    the debut of Budden‘s independent-era career. No longer retained by an
    A&R, his witty lyricism and sharp rhymes aren’t held back here.
    From the introductory “Now I Lay,” Joe sets the stage for the LP,
    saying, “Fuck y’all! I ain’t gotta explain myself,” before doing just that. “I don’t care how you rate me/It’ll take a long
    time to evaluate me
    ,” he adds before claiming a straight jacket
    couldn’t hold him.

    Through the majority of the LP, “Regular Joe”
    manages to spit rhymes that sound like they’re coming straight from a
    psychiatrist’s transcripts. From a personal vacation from stress
    (“Don’t Take Me”), to the remorseful father who once contemplated the
    abortion of his only son (“I Couldn’t Help It,” where he also speaks on
    getting with a fellow rapper’s girl), Budden unleashes his truth with
    no filter or rose-tinted glass. Sometimes, his rhymes sound like
    correspondence letters, speaking to his brothers about their future
    (“Blood on the Wall”), and writing to everyone in his life as if it was
    his last rhyme ever (“Do Tell”). He opens up even more in a
    hypothetical conversation with God (“Pray for Me”) as he argues with
    The Lord about everything from Aids to retardation and starvation, only
    to find more truth about his own pitfalls. Joe then spits as if he was
    in a mental institution (“Angel in My Life”) just to tie loose ends
    with the album’s title. “They say the room’s padded for my own
    safety/But the cushion don’t soften shit/ They lock the door, but
    still, they let my thoughts in it.

    Another notable highlight
    is Joey‘s progressive flow. Throughout the album, especially shown
    on “Exxxes” and “In My Sleep,” Joe expands his toolbox, riding beats
    with more melodies than usual. This helps Budden‘s rhymes connect more
    with a wider range of listeners while never losing his lyrical aptitude
    in the process. On an album that channels a psychiatric evaluation of
    an emcee through well thought out rhyme patterns and meditative
    narration, the flow is crucial to driving the point home. And it does.

    While
    lyrically, this is a new plateau and an exciting, polished album,
    Padded Room‘s accompanying music marks Joe‘s independent arrival with
    the disappointments of independent production budgets. The hard-to-take-serious
    Blastah Beatz placement on “Now I Lay” is followed by an even weaker
    instrumental by Fyu-Chur for The Game-assisted letdown “The Future” [click to listen].
    Dub B‘s “Adrenaline” sounds extremely out of place, while Quan‘s “Happy
    Holidays” ultimately feels like filler music to the lyrics. Many of the
    other records carry their weight musically, but for the same artist
    backed by Just Blaze and White Boy six years ago, the homegrown talents
    are strong in mixtapes, but leave more to be desired on retail product.

    Despite a minor shortcoming, Joe Budden has released a candid
    and thought provoking piece of work. It’s something that many fans have
    been waiting for. Even with miscues on board, it’s still the album
    mainstream rappers attempt to make on paper, and the kind of writing
    that many independents can’t seem to keep up with.

    2 thoughts on “Joe Budden – Padded Room

    1. Some of the most genius concepts to be ever found on a Hip Hop release. This is the work of an incredibe mind. Angel In My Life >>> your favorite rapper’s best track.

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